Epitope Inc. (ASE:EPT) announced at its shareholders' meetingMonday several new marketing and manufacturing pacts for itsOraSure oral specimen collection device.

The Portland, Ore., company has established a joint venture inthe People's Republic of China (PRC), has agreed to supplyOraSure to a U.S. insurance testing laboratory and hasappointed a company to manufacture OraSure in the UnitedKingdom.

Epitope and China National Biological Products Corp., amarketing arm of the Chinese government, have formed the50/50 joint venture Beijing Epitope Biotech Co. in the PRC.Beijing Epitope will manufacture and distribute OraSure withinthe PRC and Epitope will market the venture's products outsideChina.

Clinical Reference Laboratory Inc. of Lenexa, Kan., has agreed topurchase the OraSure device for its total requirement ofdevices for oral-specimen collection in the continental U.S.Shipments may begin after FDA approves OraSure for HIV-1testing. Last August, Epitope announced a similar agreementwith Home Office Reference Laboratory.

And in the U.K., the Chiltern division of Owen Mumford Ltd.will manufacture OraSure for distribution to Europe and othermarkets outside the U.S.

(c) 1997 American Health Consultants. All rights reserved.